Floor mat



March 30, 1954 D. w. MOOR, JR y 2,573,355

FLooR MAT Filed Nov. 9, 195o Fyil.

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Patented Mar. 30, 195.4

FLOOR MAT Dudley W. Moor, Jr., Toledo,

American Mat Corporation, corporation of Delaware Ohio, assigner to Toledo, Ohio, a

Application November 9, 1950, Serial No. 194,819 4 Claims. (Cl. 15-215) This invention relates to floor mats and, more particularly, to oor mats of the so-called nexible link type in which a plurality of individual links are arranged in parallel rows, the links in each row being spaced and staggered with respect to the links in each adjacent row, and the rows of links are connected and articulated by transversely extending pivot wires.

In rubber mats of this type, as fabricated in accordance with the prior art, the upper surfaces of the links may be roughened to assist in scraping dirt and other substances on the feet of persons Walking on the mats and the under surfaces of the mat may similarly be corrugated to permit water to drain from beneath the mat. In most prior art link type mats, however, whether their surfaces are corrugated or not, all of the corrugations or projections en the bottom surfaces of the mats and on the links from which the mats are made project, to the same plane so that both the mats and the individual component links lie iiat on the surface of the floor on which the mat is used.

It is the principal object of this invention to provide a link type iioor mat construction in which the individual links are not constrained to lie iiat on the floor on which the mat is placed.

It is another object of this invention to provide a link-type mat in which each of the individual links thereof is securely connected to its neighbors to form a large mat yet is free to move relatively independently of its neighbors for the purpose of more effectively removing dirt and other foreign material from the shoe soles of persons walking on the mat.

It is, then, a more specic object of this invention to provide a link-type iioor mat in which each of the links, though assembled into a complete floor mat, is relatively free to rock under the action of people Walking over the mat.

It is another more specic object of this invention to provide a link type rubber mat which can be placed upon a door with either of its two surfaces turned upwardly and in either case, which effectively drains Water oif the surface of the links of which the mat is made.

More specific objects and advantages will be apparent from the drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary plan view of a section of a link-type mat embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken substantially on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1 and illustrating the action of the links constituting a mat em- 2 bodying the invention under the pressure ci' the feet of persons walking on the mat.

Fig. (iis a still further enlarged plan view of an individual link employed in the floor mat embodying the invention.

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially on the line 5--5 of Fig. 4 but inverted to show the position assumed by one of the links when the mat is turned over; and

Fig. 6 is a still further enlarged perspective view of one of the links of which a mat embodying invention is constructed.

A. link-type mat embodying' the invention comprises, among other parts, a very large number of individual links I which are arranged in parallel spaced rows as indicated in Fig. 1 by the legends Row A, Row B, Row C. As is seen in Fig. l the links in each row are spaced longitudinally from each other and staggered with respect to the links in each adjacent row. The ends of the links in each row overlap the ends oi the links in adjacent rows. rthis arrangement results in a checkerboard appearance in which the rectangular links i 0 are spaced from each other cy rectangular open spaces II through which debris and water can be passed from the upper surface of a oor mat to the oor on which the mat is placed.

The links iii are connected together by a plurality of cross wires I 2 which extend through transverse holes I3 (see also Fig. 3) formed in the ends of each of the links I0, the overlapping of the links lining up the holes I3 in links in adjacent rows. r'he cross wires I 2 are of a diameter substantially less than the diameter of 'the holes i3. word wire as used herein. is not intended to be limited to metal but in-y cludes any material made in wire form and ca-y pable of functioning to retain adjacent links.

The ends of the cross Wires I2 are turned over horizontally forming engaging hooks l which: are inserted through side openings I5 into a. longitudinally extending opening it in a beveled edge piece I1. The hooks I4, when engaged in the opening i6 of the beveled edge piece i7, prevent the wires I2 from being pulled free of the edge piece I7 and thus retain the links I0 and the edge piece i7 in an assembled mat of definite dimensions. The construction so far described is, in general, conventional in the art of link mat fabrication but a link mat embodying the invention has additional features from which its superior qualities result and which consist in the cooperation between the links IIJ and the cross wires I2 as will now be described.

Each of the links I0 has an upper surface I8 which consists in a plurality of transversely extending ribs I9. At each end of each of the links IU there is formed an enlarged boss 2U through which the transverse holes I3 are formed and through which the cross wires I2 extend. At the center of each of the links II) a still further enlarged boss 2 I is formed and is pierced by an aperture 22 which softens the boss 2| by providing space into which the material of the link body may be deformed when the link is loaded as by persons walking upon it. As can be seen in Fig. 3 because the openings I3 through the bosses 2lil are considerably larger in diameter than the diameters of the cross wires I2, and becausethe center bosses 2l are considerably larger than the end bosses 2t, and thus the end bosses 2li normally do not rest on the floor, when a persongwalks over a mat embodying the invention each of the individual links lil rocks with respect to its neighbors asis indicated by the arrows in that gure. This rocking action not only apparently softens the entire mat to the feet of a person walking upon it but also aids in the cleaning of the under surface of the persons shoes by scraping over the surface. The tilting action of each individual link and of adjacent links has the additional feature of assisting in draining water off the surface of the link by tipping the link and by actuating the link relative to the water.

When a link mat embodying the invention is to be used in a location where a rougher wearing surface is desired as, for example, where a large amount of debris and moisture may be carried onto the mat, the mat can be turned over, placing the surfaces I8 on the iioor and turning the bosses 2Q and 2l upwardly. When the mat is in this position each link is in the position as indicated in Fig. 5. It will be noted in Figs. 3 and 5 that the surfaces of the links which extend between the bosses 26 and 2l are angular in both the longitudinal and the transverse dimensions of each link. In Fig. this surface 23 between a boss 29 and a boss 2l is shown as being inclined downwardly and to the left in the direction transverse to the greater length of the mat. This inclined surface 23 also is inclined in its direction extending between the bosses 2I and 2t as can be seen by reference to Fig. 3. Thus when a mat embodying the invention is placed on the floor with its enlarged bosses 20 and 2I up, water which gets on the surface of the mat links flows to the rectangular spaces I I between the links by flowing down the surfaces 23 toward the center bosses 2l and then along the surfaces 23 to the lower edges of the links I0.

The openings 22 in the center bosses 2l, by softening the material in the bosses 2 I make the mat more resilient to the feet of a walker when these bosses are turned upwardly just as they do when the bosses are turned downwardly. When the irregular surfaces of the links are turned upwardly, they assist in providing traction for the feet of persons walking thereon, especially when a mat is placed on an inclined surface.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A link type floor mat comprising a plurality of rows of substantially rectangular, individual links, the links in each row being spaced longitudinally and overlapped in alternating relation with the links in adjacent rows, there being a transverse aperture through each end of each link; and a plurality of transverse cross wires, each cross wire extending through the apertures in the ends of a series of adjacent staggered links, the diameters of the apertures being substantially larger than the diameters of the cross wires, each of said linksv having an irregular; under surface with a generally lcentrally locatedtransverse and downwardly extending protuberance which projects froin the body of said link a distance greater than any other portion of said body and thereby supports said link and said mat on the surface on which it rests.

2. A link for a mat in accordance with claim 1 injwhich the upper surface of the link is relatively nat and smooth compared to its lower surface, all protruding portions of the upper surface lying in substantially the same plane.

3. A link for an articulated, link type floor mat, said link having a generally rectangular body with a rst ribbed side, thevribs on said side being small and all protruding from the body thereof the same distance, said link having a second side formed of a smaller number of larger ries all extending generally transversely of said link and of the mat 1n which said links are assembled, one of said ribs on the second side of said link being generally centrally located and protruding from the body of said link to a point beyond the others of said ribs; the surface of the body of said link between the ribs on the second s de of said link being inclined relative to the horizontal whereby when said second side of said link is turned upwardly water thereon drains od such surfaces.

fl. A link type door mat adapted to be placed on a generally fiat surface with either of its sides turned upwardly and comprising a plurality of parallel rows of generally rectangular links, the links in each of said rows of links being longitudinally spaced and staggered with respect to the links in adjacent rows of links, the ends of al1 of said links being overlapped with the ends of said links in adjacent rows, there being transverse apertures through each end of each of said links, such apertures being generally in line transversely across said mat; and a plurality of transversely extending wires passing through said apertures and linking said links together; each of said links having one relatively smooth side in which all protruding portions lie generally in the same plane and an opposed irregular side, the opposed irregular side of said link consisting in end ribs through which said transverse apertures pass and a generally centrally located pressure rib, said pressure rib protruding a distance beyond any other portion of said link; the transverse apertures in each of said links having diameters larger than the diameters of said cross wires.

DUDLEY VII.V MOOR, JR.

References Citedy in the file of this, patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date D. 161,703 Moor Jan. 23, 1951 1,222,707' Woodward Apr. 17, 191.7 1,797,562 Williams et al. Mar. 24, 1931 2,077,901 Russon Apr. 20, 1937 

